>Because why would you want more than 1024x786 on a 15"
>monitor?
I'm quite sure there's some masochists out there that wouldn't mind having a higher res on such a monitor, but you have to consider that the construction of the monitor itself can impact both resolution and refresh rate. I know of quite a few old monitors that have some..shall we say, "artistic" takes on what Windows should look like after being pushed far beyond their operational limits
This is one of the reasons that both Windows and X (under Linux or Solaris or whathaveyou) gives you a host of dire warnings when you attempt to make changes.
On a related note, just recently nVidia released a reference motherboard for use with the GeForce series. It included onboard audio that's supposed to rival that of the SB Live! series. While I'm not certain just what features it'd provide that puts it so far ahead of the competition, that's what I'd heard. I don't have a link to the article, but it was posted on Slashdot earlier in the week.